Cochin Shipyard inks deal with HD KSOE, plans US $2.11 bln expansion

State-run Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) on 23 September signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with South Korea’s HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) to build large-scale commercial vessels.

The pact is part of an expansion plan that could see a total investment of around US $2.11 billion across new facilities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, aiming to position India as a global shipbuilding power.

The collaboration aims to merge CSL's infrastructure and domestic shipbuilding experience with HD KSOE's technology and global expertise.

Under the agreement, the partners will utilize CSL’s new 310-meter dry dock in Kochi inaugurated in January 2024 to construct complex vessels such as Suezmax tankers, container ships, and Capesize bulk carriers.

To support this high-volume production, CSL announced plans for a new Block Fabrication Facility in Kochi. The project, involving an investment of approximately US $417.3 million, will have an annual capacity of 1,20,000 MT and is expected to generate around 2,000 direct jobs, with significant follow-on employment in ancillary industries.

In a further move to expand its footprint, CSL signed a second MoU with Guidance, the Tamil Nadu government's nodal agency.

This deal was sign on 20 September when PM Modi inaugurated a series of key development projects in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

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This agreement paves the way for a potential greenfield investment of about US $1.69 billion to establish a new shipyard in Tamil Nadu, also in collaboration with a Korean partner.

The first phase of this project is projected to create nearly 10,000 direct and indirect jobs. The MoU was signed in the presence of CSL CMD Madhu S Nair and Guidance MD & CEO Darez Ahamed.

The share of Cochin Shipyard's closed at Rs 1,888.60 per share down by 1.78%.